Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

My week of house sitting at the in-laws is nearing its end and I have mixed feelings about it. I miss Shane so I’ll be happy to get home and spend time together. That said, I love being down here for so many reasons. It’s peaceful and quiet (cars aren’t speeding by like they do in front of my house) and the ocean is just a few steps away. We don’t have pets at home so I’ll miss their twocats curling up with me on the couch. I’ve also really enjoyed having access to all of my father-in-law’s camera equipment :) We both have Canons but he has many more lenses than I do, as well as the Speedlite 430 EX Flash. I’ve heard a lot about this flash, but never had an opportunity to use it until this week. It’s been fun though there’s a lot of trial and error involved as I have no clue how to use it properly. I made this cauliflower last night long after the sun had set and used the Speedlite to take these photos. They’re not perfect, but a huge improvement over anything I’d be able to take with the built in flash on my camera!

I wasn’t even sure I liked cauliflower before I tried this recipe. I don’t recall having ever eaten it but as part of my goal to eat more veggies this year, I bought a head of cauliflower at the store with this recipe in mind. I’d heard many raves about using cauliflower to make faux mashed potatoes and I thought it would be a good preparation to introduce this veggie. I was surprised by how tasty I found this dish! I’m not sure you’re going to fool anyone into thinking they’re real mashed potatoes, but the texture is quite similar and the dish has a lot of flavor. I think you could make them healthier by reducing the amount of butter too and I’ll do that next time.

Clean and cut the cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Drain the cauliflower well; do not let cool and pat it very dry between several layers of paper towels.

In the bowl of a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper until almost smooth.

Garnish with chives, if desired.

26 Responses to "Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes"

I have actually made a version of this before and we love it. My version doesn’t have cream cheese, so I will try this one next time I do this, which will be when they run cauliflower on sale again. Great photos of it all. Boy this week is passing quickly, it seems like you just got there!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cauliflower mash! I make it all of the time! It is so healthy and tastes almost as good as the real thing! And I can’t believe you took those photos with a flash! I have to look into getting one!

I don’t think I’ve ever really tried cauliflower either. I am TERRIBLE about vegetables (hate to admit it, but there is the ugly truth) – maybe this could be a good ‘gateway’ intro for me? It really looks yummy!

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How bizarre! I serve this every holiday! And I convert so many “mashed potato-addicts” over to the faux-mashed potatoes all the time. I love this recipe and it’s so non-starchy like potatoes – only I add 3 oz. cream cheese and 1 tbs butter. But parmesan… hm – that sounds even better! So glad you made this!

This is the best recipe I’ve seen for mashed cauliflower. We didn’t have cream cheese on hand, so I used soft herbed goat cheese instead. Even after taking a bite, my husband thought they were real mashed potatoes.

OMGosh – I made this dish tonight – I am low carbing and I have been just DYING to make this…I only made a few adjustments – reduced the butter to 1T. and added 3T of whipping cream, 3oz. cream cheese – it was AWESOME!!! I only used 1/2 of a VERY large head of Cauliflower because I didn’t want to waste the whole thing in case we didn’t like it – now I am kicking myself for not cooking the whole head – boo hoo Thank you, thank you, thank you for this great recipe!!!!

This is amazing! the first search and you come up. Just want to thank you for taking time to post such life changing reci !! We all look so much more sexier not fat! Thanx for the low or no carb mash taders ive been craving for! …Inside every big person there is a smaller one trying to get out.